AIBU to think that DCs should be served first?

[DioneTheDiabolist]

When dining with my family, we always serve the children first. It gives us time and space to cut up food, get them sorted with sauces etc. Then, when the adult food arrives everyone is ready to tuck in.

I have been eating out recently with friends and more often than not the adults are served first. Why do restaurants do this? It causes more faff than necessary. Back in the dark ages when I waited tables we were told to serve children first. Happy DCs = happy bill payers.

So AIBU to think DCs should be served first?

Honestly have never thought of this as an issue. We eat out a lot, mostly it's all served together and it's takes a matter of a minute or two to cut up dd's food, my own food doesn't cool that quickly. we do tend ask for her food to come out with the starters if we are having them but generally speaking I don't think it does them any harm to wait a few minutes for their food, or for me to cut up hers.

But, as this thread has proved, not everybody does want the kids' food out first so it seems that the restaurant can't win.

And like I say, there's probably a 2 year window in a child's life between them eating mush and being able to use a knife and fork, that you need to cut up. Like I say, where you're in the middle of it it seems like The Most Important Thing but really, it's not

hola I'd be really pissed off if my children got annoyed if an adults dessert came out first. You wait your turn. No matter how old you are!
I'm assuming you are joking here?

Hola. Complete lack of common sense there.

Today's lunch pissed me off. 2 adults, DS(9), DNs(6, 3, 2 and 18mo). Three trips to the kitchen. Dsis and I served first.

I always request DC food is brought with the adults starters - so never have this problem.

It's just your opinion that they are doing it wrong. Clearly not everyone agrees.

Several trips to the kitchen..but how long does that actually take? MAx 90 seconds until everyone has food, I would have thought.

How is the kitchen to know which meals are for adults and which are for children?

We've always hated that as well,even just the fact that it's usually so hot when the meals get bought out and they need a few minutes to cool enough for the DC to eat them.

If we know were eating somewhere that brings the childrens food out after ours usually we just ask them if they could bring the childrens food out first.

We go to about 3 or 4 restaurants with the DC locally. It's really simple..... When we walk in the food for the DC is ordered. Our fav place cuts the food up for the DC on the plate so we don't have to. I always leave a huge tip because the staff are amazing.

In the UK it's hit and miss regarding the timing of food coming out. While we always place the order for the kids food first it's rare it comes out first. It's also never cut up.

Also people saying it takes 2 seconds to cut up a toddlers meal don't have my kids. Both of mine want to 'help' which really slows everything down. It can take me up to 10mins to cut up two plates.

I presume that you mean very small children? You surely don't need to cut up their food past the age of 3 or 4?

Whatever the age, I prefer it if they serve everyone at the same time. I definitely wouldn't like it if they served the children ages before as then they would finish eating ages before me.

How can it take ten minutes to cut up two toddler meals?

Also people saying it takes 2 seconds to cut up a toddlers meal don't have my kids. Both of mine want to 'help' which really slows everything down. It can take me up to 10mins to cut up two plates

Ten minutes? Come off it, it isn't possible to take ten full minutes to cut up food for two toddlers. And if they want to help, tell them no!

Hola you do realise that it was you and your kids who were in the wrong, not the waitress?

And of course its never cut up! I'd be appalled if food I'd ordered came out of the kitchen cut up, fgs.

I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant with children where they haven't asked when we want the kids food to come out . Even Wetherspoons ask!

Is this another thing people complain about? I only worked in a cafe and food was taken over when it was ready. We only had two ovens so if the adult was done before the kids then that was taken first.
I was always taught to wait till all food was served first, actually shocked that this is an aibu.
hoola really? Just because your kids had to wait for theirs

We tend to have starters and main courses as adults and when the children were younger they had main and a desert. Ours tended to arrive in the order of Starters, then kids mains while we were eating starters, then our mains while they are still eating and then their puds while we are finishing of our mains. In order for that to happen we've just asked for the kids mains to be served as soon as they are ready. As ours always had big appetites, they either had a taste of our starter or we'd order some bread for the table for them to get munching on in case of delays.

Food is served when it is ready. If you want kids meals first, just ask them. You are assuming that chefs and kitchen staff will inherently know what it is like to have kids, they might not.

Yes it takes up to 10mins to cut the food up because I'm disciplining them and making them wait while I finish preparing their food! I've also got 2 kids I'm cutting up good for. They are 3 and 4 years old.

I love it when the kids plates come out with the food already cut up. So much easier for me. It takes the kitchen seconds to do it too.

You're right OP. Of course a load of people have posted smugly about how their kids will wait silently at a table on command for two hours like prisoners of war, but the point of restaurant service is to make things easy and pleasant for your diners, which tends to mean keeping young children happy and occupied.

There is no way that cutting up food for a 3 and 4 yer old should take 10 minutes - what is it that you are cutting up? I have two children a year apart and we ate out often, I can't imagine anything that they'd order that would need that much cutting up.